From Electric Vehicles – Micro Mobility and the NextGen ‘Green Revolution’ – Panasonic far from being ONLY a battery supplier: CES 2018 with (5) Videos

Panasonic is far from being satisfied with only a battery supplier role. The Japanese company has greater ambitions and intends to offer its scalable “ePowertrain” platform for small EVs.

The main target for the ePowertrain are EV bikes and micro EVs. These should now be easier to develop and produce using Panasonic’s power unit (with an on-board charger, junction box, inverter and DC-to-DC converter) and a motor unit. Of course, batteries are available too.

“Panasonic Corporation announced today that it has developed a scalable “ePowertrain” platform, a solution for the effective development of small electric vehicles (EVs). The platform is a systematized application of devices used in the EVs of major global carmakers, and is intended to contribute to the advancement of the coming mobility society.

Global demand for EVs is expected to expand rapidly, along with a wide variety of new mobility. These include not only conventional passenger vehicles but also new types of EVs, such as EV bikes and micro EVs, which suit various lifestyles and uses in each region.

The platform Panasonic has developed for EV bikes and micro EVs is an energy-efficient, safe powertrain that features integrated compactness, high efficiency, and flexible scalability. It consists of basic units, including a power unit (with an on-board charger, junction box, inverter and DC-to-DC converter) and a motor unit. The platform will help reduce costs and lead time for vehicle development by scaling up or down the combination of basic units in accordance with vehicle specifications such as size, speed and torque.

Panasonic has developed and delivered a wide range of components – including batteries, on-board chargers, film capacitors, DC-to-DC converters and relays – specifically for EVs, plug-in hybrids, and hybrid EVs. Panasonic will continue to contribute to the global growth in EVs through system development that makes use of the strengths of our devices.”

In the case of full-size cars, Panasonic is most known for its battery cells supplied to Tesla. The partnership was recently expanded to include solar cells.

Panasonic feels pretty independent from Tesla, stressing that it has its own battery factory “inside” the Tesla Gigafactory, however the cells were “jointly designed and engineered”.

Annual production of 35 GWh is expected in 2019.

Production of New Battery Cells for Tesla’s “Model 3”

Panasonic’s lithium-ion battery factory within Tesla’s Gigafactory handles production of 2170-size*1 cylindrical battery cells for Tesla’s energy storage system and its new “Model 3” sedan, which began production in July 2017. The high performance cylindrical “2170 cell” was jointly designed and engineered by Tesla and Panasonic to offer the best performance at the lowest production cost in an optimal form factor for both electric vehicles (EVs) and energy products. Panasonic and Tesla are conducting phased investment in the Gigafactory, which will have 35 GWh*/year production capacity of lithium-ion battery cells, more than was produced worldwide in 2013. Panasonic is estimating that global production volume for electric vehicles in fiscal 2026 will see an approximately six-fold increase from fiscal 2017 to over 3 million units. The Company will contribute to the realization of a sustainable energy society through the provision of electric vehicle batteries.

In regards to solar cells, Panasonic expects 1 GW output at the Tesla Gigafactory 2 in Buffalo, New York in 2019.

The solar cells are used both in conventional modules, as well as in Tesla Solar Roof tiles.

Strengthening Collaboration with Tesla

In addition to the collaboration with Tesla in the lithium-ion battery business (for details, refer to pages 5-6), Panasonic also collaborates with the company in the solar cell business and will begin production of solar cells this summer at its Buffalo, New York, factory. Solar cells produced at this factory are supplied to Tesla. In addition, the solar cells are used in roof tiles sold by Tesla, a product that integrates solar cells with roofing materials.Panasonic will continue its investment in the factory going forward and plans to raise solar cell production capacity to 1 GW by 2019.